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Dikes Reinforced In Cyanide Scare

BAIA MARE, ROMANIA — Workers toiled Wednesday to prevent more cyanide from spilling from a gold mine and reaching European rivers.

The poison streamed from the containment dam at the mine near Baia Mare on Jan. 30, flowing into Hungary and Yugoslavia on the Szamos and Tisza Rivers and back into Romania on the Danube.

"Very serious damage was done," Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the UN Environment Program, said as he toured the mine. The full extent of devastation will be known only after tests are completed, he said.

Water in the reservoir was frozen Wednesday. Workmen worked to reinforce the dikes to prevent any further overspill into the nearby stream as children frolicked in the snow.

Australia-based Esmeralda Ltd., co-owner of the Baia Mare gold mine, has denied responsibility for the spill, saying the extent of the poisoning had been exaggerated. Romania has also said the damage was overstated and that it has suffered the most.